They turned a corner, and the immense gates of the castle wall loomed before them. Golden sunlight spilled over the parapets, making Hanne blink. She could just see Dowager Queen Grace, Princesses Sanctuary and Unity, and Rune; they stood together, waiting for the casket to be brought out so they could ride ahead. Hanne was expected to join her husband.
“I hate funerals,” she murmured.
Nadine shot her a look, silently reminding her that if Hanne had her way, there would be several funerals, and she would be expected to attend them all.
“Oh, I know.” She strode toward the waiting royalty. “But perhaps now that I am queen, I will write a royal proclamation banning funerals.”
“What will we do with the bodies after the war?” Nadine asked, playing along.
“By the time I sign that proclamation, the wars will be over. I will have conquered everything. We will have peace.”
“Of course,” Nadine said. “And no one will ever die of illness or old age.”
“We’ll see. Even queens have only so much power.”
A dark memory suddenly welled up in the back of her mind—hot slices over her face, dark pressure on her chest, and eerie green light pouring through her whole body—but Hanne pushed it back. Buried it. Smothered it. If she could have destroyed that memory and held a funeral for it, she would have. She would have made the exception.
Worriedly, Nadine touched Hanne’s arm, but by then they’d reached the Highcrowns.
Hanne greeted the Caberwilline royalty and, doing her best to appear sad but strong, took her place beside Rune. Members of the Crown Council, various nobles from both the Caberwill and Embria sides, and other important figures would all meet her today, some for the very first time. She needed to give them a lasting impression of compassion, confidence, and competence. Nadine had planted those seeds while Hanne had been “dead,” and now it was time to…water them. Or dump compost over them.
Hanne wasn’t a farmer. She didn’t know exactly the next step in the metaphor, but she did know she had to win these people over. She needed all of Caberwill ready to unite behind her.
Nadine stood with the other ladies-in-waiting behind Hanne, and all of Hanne’s Embrian guards were behind them. Quickly, Nadine reached forward and gave Hanne’s arm a gentle squeeze. It would come across as sweet and supportive, and, most important, like Hanne had friends who believed in her.
And, while they weren’t friends—barely acquaintances—Hanne scanned the Caberwilline faces until she spotted Prudence Shadowhand and Victoria Stareyes; the two stood a short distance apart, the former with her husband—a well-dressed (for a Caberwilline) earl—and the latter with a group of other young noblewomen, many who had the appearance of eager outsiders. When Hanne and Victoria exchanged brief nods, the nobles surrounding her flashed curious, impressed looks.
Satisfied she’d raised at least one of her new allies in the esteem of her peers, Hanne turned toward the grand priest, who was beginning a prayer to Elmali, the patron Numen of Caberwill. “Glory to the Stalwart, the Steadfast, the mountain on which we stand…”
Sunshine warmed Hanne’s skin and voices hummed around her, some in prayer, some in remembrance of the dead king. It was a pleasant day, and aside from needing to attend the funeral for a man Hanne hated, everything was finally going to plan. Life—post-malsite, post-rancor, and post-Ivasland—was looking up.
Then, everyone else was looking up as well.
Their gazes were fixed westward as gasps fluttered along the procession of nobles, officials, and merchants. They’d all stopped moving, no longer interested in greeting the Highcrowns or extending their condolences.
Dread coiled in Hanne’s gut as she, Rune, and the others turned and followed all the eyes.
“What’s wrong with it?” Princess Sanctuary asked.
“I think it’s broken,” Princess Unity answered.
And finally, Dayle Larksong: “Dear Known and Unknown alike. We should have listened. She warned us, and we didn’t listen.”
They were talking about the Malstop.
Normally, it was a distant wall of shimmering white-blue, a vast and unknowable darkness behind the sheen of ancient magic. Though translucent, no one could mistake the barrier for anything other than solid….
Until now.
The Malstop was stretched impossibly thin, like a bubble about to burst. Gossamer veins of silver scuttled across the sheerest areas, where deep, bloody red showed through. It was as though the magic were trying to compensate, but it wouldn’t be enough. Even leagues away from the Malstop, the sharp odor of ozone reached Hanne.
Darkness drenched her mind, ruddy skies and glasslike shards filled with monsters. It was all she could do not to bend over and vomit right there, as terror reached through her chest and gripped her heart with blazing fingers.
“Hanne?” Nadine had stepped forward, and now her hand rested on Hanne’s shoulder.
Hanne was trembling, her mind overcome with memories of the malsite and the Dark Shard. The hollowed-out hunger, the starless black sky, the agony of constant terror: these things would haunt her forever. And they were about to be unleashed on Salvation.
“I will conquer fear,” Hanne whispered to herself. “I will conquer everything.”
Nadine squeezed her shoulder. “I know. I believe in you.”
As everyone continued staring at the failing Malstop, Hanne closed her eyes and prayed to Tuluna. Tell me this is part of your plan. Tell me I will create peace for all three kingdoms.
You will make a peace the world has never before seen, Tuluna answered. Finish the wars and make peace. An Incursion cannot hurt you.
A deep sense of comfort enveloped Hanne. An Incursion could not hurt her. Tuluna would protect her. All she had to do was follow their instructions.
Hanne stepped forward, gazing down the lines of nobles and merchants and everyone else who’d come to see their king laid to rest.
“Do not be afraid.” She made her voice strong, powerful. “Be concerned, be vigilant, but do not be afraid, because fear is what the Malice wants. That the Malstop is weakening is worrying, but it can be fixed. It has been fixed in the past, and so it will be once more.”
Tell them you will do it.
Hanne drew in a sharp breath. I will fix the Malstop? She whispered in her mind. How?
Trust me.
She did. She trusted Tuluna more than anything in the whole world. So she said, “I vow, here, before all of you, that I will find a way to fix the Malstop. On the Embria-Caberwill alliance, on my marriage to Rune Highcrown, and on the memory of dear King Opus the Third: I will ensure safety for all Salvation.”
There was no applause, but a few people at a time, the mourners began to nod, some holding their fists to their chests, others gazing at her with a terrible hope in their eyes. They already wanted so much from her, and she would give and give to them—more than they deserved—because she was Tuluna’s chosen, and it was her destiny to deliver peace.